The Upstart (Japan, 1921)

Nakajima Iwajirō, dubbed the “Japanese Charlie Chaplin,” stars in this comedy about a man’s obsession with money.

Narrated by benshi Kataoka Ichiro.

Print courtesy of the National Film Archive of Japan. 35mm, b/w, silent, intertitles in Japanese with English subtitles, 29 min. Director: Kurihara Thomas. Screenwriter: Iwajiro Nakajima, Suzuki Chisato, Kino Gorō.

The Cheat (1915)

After a society matron (Fannie Ward) loses embezzled funds on a bad stock tip, she desperately turns to a wealthy Japanese art dealer (Sessue Hayakawa) for a loan but he demands repayment in carnal affection. Bathed in deep chiaroscuro shadow and seething with exoticism and racial paranoia (the Japanese Association of Southern California protested the film on its release), The Cheat is DeMille at his most scandalous.